Artemisia Academy
by regolithheart
Summary: After spending two years at an all-boys boarding school, the infamous Carswell Thorne returns to Artemisia Academy, a private high school where privilege abounds and scandal runs deep / Multiple POVs
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING:** This fic is rated T for teens and contains "some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes." Please be advised that there is a possibility this may be bumped up to an M rating down the road.

* * *

Carswell Thorne leaned against one of the large carved stone pillars lining the arcade next to the school's courtyard. Sunglasses lowered, he eyed the students walking by. More accurately, he eyed the female students walking by and appreciated their short pleated skirts and knee socks. He definitely missed that, being at an all-boys boarding school for the past two years. He was finally back in his element and he couldn't wait to pick up where he left off.

His shoulder jerked forward as someone gave him a playful yet firm punch in the arm. Thorne looked over to see his best friend Kai Prince, grinning at him.

"Surveying the student body, I see."

Thorne shrugged as he positioned his Ray Bans back on his face. "Some of the students' bodies at least."

Kai rolled his eyes at Thorne. "Come on. You're going to be late on your first day of school."

Now it was Thorne's turn to roll his eyes. Being late for class was never a concern of his and now that it was his senior year and he had no intentions of going to college he didn't see why he should start worrying about such trivial things. Besides, it was his father's fault that Thorne was starting two weeks after the official beginning of the school year. He figured there was already a precedent set. Still, he followed as Kai made his way to their lockers.

Kai led Thorne pass the large carved wood doors into the school's main corridor, stopping in front of a bank of royal blue lockers. He handed Thorne a slip of paper with a combination and pointed to the locker right next to his. Thorne took the paper and smirked. Leave it to Kai to make sure they had neighboring lockers. He wondered how many of Kai's infamous Prince-smirks he had to dole out onto the admin assistant in the registrar's office to pull that off.

Since Thorne didn't have any books or even a backpack, he slipped the paper into his pocket and leaned against the lockers, resuming his assessment of the female population. Kai shook his head.

"Why do I even bother?"

Thorne chuckled.

"Are you even planning on going to class this year?"

"Of course. _The Captain_ said I could only come back if I went to all of my classes and didn't flunk out. Honestly, I think he just wanted me to come back because we have a legacy to uphold. I figured I'm golden as long as I don't get expelled … again."

This time Kai chuckled. "Easier said than done."

Thorne looked at him out of the corner of his eye, but he secretly admitted to himself that Kai was right. He really was going to have to try to not get expelled this time. He ran his hand through his hair in an act of nonchalance and let out a low whistle as a pair of girls walked by. They looked at him appreciatively. He watched them as they made their way down the hall grinning to himself, but the smile quickly faded when he saw who was making their way towards him.

"Psycho queen coming right at us," he murmured to Kai.

Kai looked over his shoulder and bristled. He stuffed the rest of his books hastily into his bag, slammed his locker shut, and joined Thorne in leaning against his own locker.

A tall girl with long wavy auburn hair and flawless skin came to a stop in front of them, her entourage following close behind.

"Carswell," she purred, "I'm so glad to see you're back." She reached over to lay a hand on his bicep.

Thorne was glad his sunglasses were concealing his rolling eyes. "Levana."

Levana Blackburn smiled at Thorne as she dipped her charcoal eyes, making sure to show off her long lashes in a flutter before darting a quick glance over to Kai. Thorne looked past Levana and standing behind her right shoulder, exactly where he expected her to be, stood a tall girl with olive skin and jet-black hair—her steely grey eyes almost as sharp and severe as the cut of her long bob and bangs—Sybil Mira. Standing just as straight but not nearly as rigid as Sybil was Aimery Park. His dark skin almost glowed in the warm morning sun streaming in from the corridor windows. Unlike Sybil who always had a scowl on her face, Aimery was smirking. Thorne couldn't help but picture a mischievous cat with a canary in its claws.

Before Thorne could turn his eyes back on Levana, he spotted someone unfamiliar—a petite blonde girl with a heart-shaped face and long wavy hair that was pulled into a ridiculously long side braid. The girl had a light blue ribbon tied to the tail end of her braid, and a tiny silver crescent moon hair pin tucked into the curls at her temple. Thorne eyed her curiously. If she wasn't standing so close to Aimery, Thorne would not have thought she was part of Levana's clique. She looked almost too innocent to be hanging out with Levana and Thorne wondered if maybe she was a foreign exchange student who didn't know any better.

At that moment the bell rang, and Thorne was never so relieved to go to class.

"I'll see you around, Carswell." Levana cooed, finally taking her hand off his arm.

"Sure, Levana." Thorne said as casually as he could muster.

Levana didn't say a single word to Kai before she made her way down the hall with her party in tow.

"Aces, I did not miss her," Thorne muttered.

Kai chuckled, hiking his backpack up his shoulder. "Welcome back to Artemisia Academy."

Thorne laughed and watched as an attractive girl walked by, doing nothing to conceal the fact that she was checking him out.

"It feels like I never even left."

* * *

Thorne smirked as he stood in front of the class, waiting for the teacher to introduce him. He wasn't sure if Kingsley Thorne had this in mind when he waited until the last minute to tell his son he could return to his former school, but Thorne didn't mind benefitting from it either way.

"Class, this is Carswell Thorne," Mrs. Kamin announced.

Thorne's eyes swept over the students as the look of realization dawned on their faces. He chuckled. "You can just call me Thorne," he said taking his time as he made his way to the back of the classroom where there was inevitably an empty seat.

He leaned back in his chair, legs stretching out into the aisle, feet crossed at the ankles, making a big show of stretching his hands and bending them back so they rested against the back of his head, arms jutting outward. He simply grinned as he heard the whispers ripple through the classroom.

The _Carswell Thorne? The one the library is named after? That was his grandfather. Didn't he get expelled? I heard he was sent to England. I heard he joined the army. No, that was just military school. What is he doing back?_

By the time the lunch bell rang, the whole school was buzzing about the return of Carswell Thorne, the bad boy who had gotten expelled from school in his sophomore year, no one really knowing the reason why, and was shipped off to some boarding school no one had heard of. Some of the stories that caught Thorne's attention were simply outlandish and couldn't be further from the truth, but he loved each and every one of them.

Thorne caught up with Kai in the courtyard where most of the students gathered during their forty-five minute lunch break. He snatched the apple off Kai's tray and bit into it.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Carswell Thorne. Did you _really_ kidnap Kufra High's mascot and set it loose in their school?" Kai feigned awe.

Thorne nearly choked on the apple. "A tiger?! Why would I set a tiger loose? That's just ridiculous!"

"That's one of the tamer stories. Did you or did you not win a night with a high-end escort while playing in an underground Royals tournament in Rio?"

Thorne threw his head back in genuine laughter at that one. "It was a princess and we were in Sao Paolo." He smirked.

* * *

Thorne stood at the front of his last class, waiting for the teacher to introduce him although he knew it wasn't necessary. He scanned the room, his heart dropping for the first time all day. The only empty seat was front and center and coincidentally, right next to the blonde girl from that morning—Levana's newest lackey.

"Class," their English teacher, Mr. Bromstad, called out. "This is Carswell Thorne."

He grinned, trying to hide his irritation. "Just Thorne, thanks."

He slipped into the empty seat, not being able to recall the last time, if ever, he sat in the front row. It made him uncharacteristically uncomfortable and he didn't like it one bit. Maybe he'd talk to one of the back row kids into trading seats with him. He also wasn't above paying someone, or even resorting to blackmail if it came down to it.

He shifted in his seat as Mr. Bromstad stood just a few feet in front of him, gesticulating wildly as he went on and on about how Hamlet's inaction lead to his ultimate demise. Thorne fidgeted in his seat thinking about how he should be writing all of this down or something, when a piece of paper and pen landed on the desk in front of him.

He looked over at Levana's lackey—he should really find out what her name was—but she didn't even look up from her note-taking. Thorne picked up the pen and noticed a tiny silver crescent moon sticker taped to the pen's cap. He spent the rest of the period actually taking notes, not realizing how often his thumb absentmindedly ran across the little silver moon.

When the bell rang, Thorne made to lean over to return the pen, but someone blocked his way. He found himself staring at the tan midriff of a girl. That wasn't standard regulation for the school's mandatory uniform, but he appreciated her personal style. He drew his eyes upwards and flashed his one-sided grin at a girl with thick black hair pulled into a bun and warm hazel eyes. She lay a hand on the crook of Thorne's elbow.

"Hi Thorne, I don't know if you remember me … Jina."

Thorne flashed his grin again. "Of course I remember you Jina," he lied. "What can I do for you?"

"Since you're back, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime."

Thorne eyed her up and down, eyes resting just a moment on her midriff and pouty lips. "Sure, sugar."

Jina looked pleased, but then expectant—probably waiting for him to give her his number.

"Why don't you give me your number and I'll call you."

Jina's eyes flashed briefly with disappointment, but she grabbed the pen and paper that was sitting on Thorne's desk and wrote her information down, larger than Thorne thought was necessary. She made her way out the mostly empty classroom.

"Wait, Jina," Thorne said.

She turned around, eyes shining. "Yes?"

Thorne pointed at her hand. "Can I have my pen back?"

Jina looked down at her hand, noticing the crescent moon sticker and forced a smile. "Of course." She sauntered back to him and lay the pen gently on the desk before leaving.

Thorne pocketed the pen and his sheet of notes and jogged out of the classroom, wondering if it was too late to catch up with Kai.

* * *

 **AN:** Thanks as always to my beta **lettered**. Thanks for reading. Comments and likes are always appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Please remember this fic is rated T.**

* * *

Crescent Moon Darnel thanked the girl handing her the pineapple smoothie and joined her friends already sitting at their usual table. She slipped into the empty seat next to her boyfriend, Aimery Park, and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I've been class president every year since we were freshmen and by the stars, if I am not student body president this year …" Levana's voice shook.

"You'll be president. Who wouldn't want to vote for you? You're the most popular girl in school!" Sybil assured her, hand patting Levana's shoulder supportively.

Levana brushed Sybil's hand away, running her own fingers along her shiny auburn waves, making sure every curl was in place.

"I heard Kai Prince was thinking about running for student body president," Aimery said, almost sounding bored.

Levana bristled.

Cress flinched.

She hated when Aimery purposefully pushed Levana's buttons. He was never the one who had to deal with Levana when she got into one of her moods. It was always Sybil and Cress who had to comfort her, take her shopping, or to the spa, or watch as she threw her belongings across her room and yelled.

Aimery could feel Cress tense up. He squeezed the arm around her waist and smiled one of his world-famous smiles. "Of course, he's never beaten you before so why would this year be any different?"

Satisfied, Levana took a sip of her green juice and made a face. Cress bit her lip to keep from snorting. Every day after school they would meet at the Juicy Fruit and every day Levana, Sybil, and Aimery would order a green juice and then proceed to take three sips before throwing the rest away. She always wondered why they just didn't have salad for dinner.

Levana stood up, brushing nonexistent dust off her Givenchy Antigona bag. "We need to start brainstorming campaign ideas. Crescent, I'm thinking you can make me an app or something. Maybe it sends users inspirational quotes of mine and reminds them of how wonderful I am."

"Actually, I can't today," Cress said, standing up. Aimery stood up with her, his arm still around her waist. "There's this event at the hospital and I told my dad I'd be his date. But the app sounds great! I can start working on it this weekend," she added quickly, before Levana's ears could begin to smoke.

Levana's scowl turned into a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Of course. The doctor is doing such great work."

Aimery pulled Cress closer, nuzzling his nose against her neck. "Can I come see you tonight?" he whispered before kissing her just below the ear.

Cress blushed. "Not tonight."

Aimery pouted before biting his bottom lip as he looked at her intensely. Cress felt weak in the knees. He smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth, and lowered his head to kiss her hand.

"Call me, then."

Cress nodded.

Levana rolled her eyes, already halfway to the door with Sybil trailing behind. Aimery chuckled and jogged after them, leaving Cress to collect herself before heading home.

* * *

Cress couldn't help but smile as she watched her father shake hands with countless people who wanted to congratulate him. Dr. Sage Darnel had just received an award for the research he was working on to find a cure for an extremely rare but deadly blood disease, letumosis. He was the top scientist in his field and while he had yet to find the cure, his research resulted in cures and treatments for many other diseases.

Cress sipped slowly on a flute of champagne. Her father had pressed it into her hand, disguising it with a splash of punch. She hesitantly took it from him, but was glad that he had the forethought. She was always so nervous talking to people she didn't know.

A hand patted her on the shoulder and she spun around in her lilac gown. Smiling at her was Rikan Prince, the owner of the top hospital and research facility in the city, and her father's boss.

"We're so proud of your father, Crescent," Mr. Prince said, beaming.

"Thank you, Mr. Prince. And thank you for hosting this event in his honor," Cress replied, returning his warm smile.

"Of course, dear. He deserves it with all of the amazing work he's doing."

At that moment, Mrs. Prince slipped in beside her husband, looping an arm around his elbow. Cress couldn't help but smile.

"Crescent, you look absolutely beautiful," she cooed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Prince. You look lovely."

"We haven't seen you around much. Do you have any classes with Kai this semester?"

Cress blushed. "No, Mrs. Prince. I'm afraid not."

"That's a shame. We miss seeing you around." She took Cress's hand. "You're always welcome to come visit Kai. We know how close you two are."

Cress forced a smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Prince, but I suspect Kai will be busy with Carswell now that he's back."

Mrs. Prince's smile didn't reach her eyes, but she squeezed Cress's hand softly. "Of course."

"Thank you again for hosting this event for my papa."

This time, her smile did reach her eyes. "It is our pleasure, Crescent."

Mr. Prince gave Cress a small bow and she watched as they made their way around the room, mingling with much more important people. She fiddled with the end of her braid as she thought about the way Mrs. Prince's face tightened when Cress had brought up Carswell Thorne. Was he really that bad? How could he be if he was friends with Kai? Kai, who was smart and nice and who had been her friend when no one else was. She had even had a small crush on him back then.

She bit her lip. Kai also stopped talking to her when she started dating Aimery in the spring of their junior year. Thinking back on it, she wondered if maybe he was only nice to her because he was lonely. After all, he only started talking to her after his best friend was expelled and shipped off to who knows where.

The thought of Kai and Carswell Thorne made her heart ache. Maybe the rumors were true and Thorne really was a liar and a scoundrel. At the very least he was the type of person who couldn't even be bothered to bring a pen and paper to class. But if he really was that bad and Kai could remain loyal to someone like Thorne but drop Cress so easily, had Kai ever really been her friend to begin with?

Cress finished off the rest of her champagne in a single gulp and looked for her father, hoping he would be okay if she left the party early.

* * *

Cress slipped out of her gown, sighing with contentment. As much as she loved dressing up and feeling like a princess or famous movie star or renown opera singer, she also loved being just Cress curled up in her pajamas.

She could still feel the effects of the champagne on her cheeks as she twirled around the room, her hair whipping around behind her. She hummed to herself as she pulled on her favorite pair of pajamas and turned the sheets down. Remembering to call Aimery, she picked up her phone and dialed his number. No one picked up. She checked the time and seeing that it was just past 10:00 pm, she texted him. Maybe he was busy.

Cress was just about to turn off her light when she heard a clicking at her window. She made her way tentatively towards it and peered down from her second story bay window to see Aimery standing on the street, throwing tiny pebbles up. She opened her window and leaned out.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," he called out to her.

Cress couldn't help but giggle. "What are you doing down there?"

"I'm here to see my beautiful Rapunzel," Aimery called out to her. "Let me come in."

Cress bit her lip, thinking she really should turn him away, but he just looked so handsome in that green sweater that she loved and he was standing outside her window. When he pulled out a single yellow rose from behind his back, she completely melted.

Cress closed her window and practically ran downstairs. When she opened the front door, Aimery was already leaning against the door frame, rose pressed up to his nose, smiling devilishly. She crossed her arms in front of him and feigned indignance.

"I said you couldn't come over tonight."

"I know, but I was thinking about you all evening and was dying to see you. I bet you looked beautiful in that dress, but I think I might prefer this outfit." He smiled slyly, eyeing the pale yellow pajamas with the tiny white polka dots. His eyes lingered on the delicate lace trim.

Cress blushed but pulled him inside. Aimery hooked a hand under Cress's chin and brought her lips up to meet his, kissing her tenderly before letting go. Cress couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Come on. Show me that dress of yours." Aimery said, already walking up the stairs to her bedroom.

Cress followed, entering her room to find Aimery already stretched out on her bed, leaning against the headboard as relaxed as can be. He laughed when he saw her face.

"Oh come on. Show me the dress."

Cress went into her closet and pulled out the lilac dress with its silk and organza skirt swishing about as she walked. Aimery leaned forward and let out a whistle.

"Wow, Cress. You must have been the most beautiful girl in the room."

Cress blushed.

"Try it on for me?" Aimery asked, an eyebrow raised. Before Cress could scold him, he laughed light-heartedly. "I'm only kidding. Come here."

Cress lay the dress on her velvet divan and came to sit down next to Aimery in her bed. "You're such a comedian." She deadpanned.

Aimery laughed again and wrapped his arm around her. His voice was gentle now. "I was only teasing." His voice was practically a whisper and Cress could feel his words on her neck as much as she could hear it in her ears.

She let him kiss her and his lips began to trail down her neck. Her body shivered in delight. Aimery pulled her down lower onto the bed and hovered over her. She felt the rose on her skin, its velvet petals brushing against her lips, then down her neck, along her collarbone and down her arms and soon it wasn't the rose petals she was feeling but Aimery's fingertips and then his mouth.

Cress could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she didn't think it was the champagne anymore. She sighed as she felt the tenderness of his touch on her skin and placed one of her hands on his arm, the other on his hip. Cress let Aimery's tongue slide into her mouth and she felt the tip of it run along hers. Her body tingled all over.

Their kisses deepened and when she felt Aimery's leg between her own, her breath hitched.

"Aimery, I—"

His mouth overtook Cress's and her words were lost. Her head began to swim, all thoughts floating away except for the desire to feel Aimery's mouth on hers, his skin on her skin. She could feel his hand on her leg now, slowly sliding upwards. Her whole body felt weak.

Aimery's fingertips fiddled with the pearlescent buttons of her top and Cress could feel the warmth of his breath on her stomach as he began to kiss her bare midriff. Her skin grew hot under his touch. He nudged the waistband of her shorts down a fraction with his chin and placed kisses against her hip.

"Aimery …" She sighed, not sure if she was pleading for him to continue or asking him to stop.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel," he said between kisses and Cress could practically feel his words melting into her skin.

Aimery's hands were on both of her hips now and his thumbs began to nudge the material of her shorts down. Desire suddenly gave way to panic and she froze. She reached down to place her hands on his, stopping him from going any further.

"Aimery, I can't," she said breathless.

Disappointment flashed in Aimery's eyes, but he recovered just as quickly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and took her hand to pull her up. He ran his thumb across her knuckles.

"I'm sorry that got out of hand. Forgive me?"

Cress nodded, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. Was it shame she felt?

Still holding her hand, Aimery brought it up to his lips and gave her knuckles a gentle kiss. "I'm sorry, Cress. Come on, I'll leave."

Cress finally looked up at him to see he was holding out the rose. She gave him a small smile as she took it and let him pull her out of the bed. She walked him to the door and said goodnight before he leaned down and gave her a peck on the forehead. Aimery gave her a wave goodbye before turning to make his way down the street. She watched as he disappeared down the block and closed the door.

* * *

 **AN:** #sorrynotsorry. Thanks again to _**lettered**_ for being an amazing beta as always, and thanks for reading. Reviews and likes are always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Kai raked his hand through his hair, tussling his perfect side part into shards of jet-black peaks, sticking out dangerously in every direction. He growled to himself as he dragged his hand back down his face. He was spending the morning poring over all of the college brochures that his mom had pressed into his hand as he was heading out the door.

He was half-tempted to leave them in the backseat of his town car when he had arrived at the school, but he didn't trust his driver, Deshal, not to rat him out. Dejected, Kai carried the thick manila envelope into the school and plopped down on the nearest stone table in the courtyard and began flipping through the countless papers. He had an inkling that both his parents would be grilling him about his thoughts at dinner that night, if not sooner via text message.

Kai groaned again just thinking about which one of his parents would text him first and when. If he

knew them at all, which he definitely did, he should be preparing himself for the onslaught of messages any minute now.

"That is not a good look on you," Thorne said as he eased onto the bench next to Kai. Thorne's back was leaning against the table, elbows propped on the ledge and legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle, sunglasses obscuring his face. His hair looked like it hadn't been combed for at least a day, but judging from the faint smell of excessively expensive cologne, Kai knew that it took Thorne at least thirty minutes that morning to make it look just so.

 _Heartthrob, Carswell Thorne_ , Kai thought and snorted.

Thorne finally looked at the mound of papers in front of Kai. "Aces, what is all of this?"

"College brochures and applications."

"How many colleges are you applying to?" Thorne held up a finger before Kai could answer. "No wait, don't tell me. _All_ of them."

Thorne grinned and his ease sent a ripple of irritation over Kai.

"I'm surprised The Captain hasn't given you a similar package. I'm pretty sure our parents are conspiring against the both of us." Kai began flipping through the brochures again, but only to give his hands something to do.

"Oh, he has, but I'm not enough of a daddy's boy to actually look through that thing." Thorne scanned the courtyard and after finding nothing, or rather no one, of interest, his attention turned back to Kai. "Besides, if Kingsley Thorne wants his son to go to college, he'll just pay one of his assistants to do all the paperwork for him. That's what they're getting paid for, isn't it?"

"Can he pay them to do my paperwork too?" Kai asked, misery lacing his voice.

"Hey, you've got your own swimming pool of cash." Thorne grinned, but his smile didn't last long. He sighed. "It's not like any of this even matters. I'm a legacy. My dad is just going to pay my way into Dartmouth anyway."

"Or send you off to West Point," Kai teased, but regretted it instantly knowing that it was a very real possibility.

"Or send me off to West Point," Thorne echoed, his voice barely above a mumble.

Kai sat silently, fidgeting with the paperwork in front of him. He jumped in his seat when Thorne reached over and snatched the brochure out of his hand.

"Why do you even need this crap anyway?" Thorne looked down at a brochure touting the many accolades of Georgetown. "Don't you get an honorary degree from Harvard for just being born a _Prince_?"

Kai yanked the brochure back out of Thorne's grip. "Unlike Kingsley Thorne, my dad doesn't believe in buying my way into an Ivy League, or any school for that matter."

Thorne clucked his tongue. "I guess we are our fathers' sons."

Kai rolled his eyes and shoved Thorne. They laughed until something bright caught Kai's attention. Aimery was making his way across the courtyard with a large bouquet of yellow roses in his hands. Kai thought there must have been at least three dozen bound together with blue ribbon. He watched as Aimery presented the roses to Cress and her eyes lit up as she took them. Kai couldn't tear his gaze away as he watched Aimery tuck a strand of stray hair behind Cress's ear and bent down to kiss her. She pushed herself up on her tip-toes to kiss him back.

"That's an interesting situation," Thorne said, gesturing his hand towards Aimery and Cress like he was swatting away a fly.

Kai cleared his throat. "What do you mean?"

"That girl and _Aimery Park,_ " Thorne clarified. "She doesn't look like she should be one of Levana's henchmen, let alone be going out with Aimery. Or maybe she's one of those girls that plays all cute and innocent and is a tiger in bed, because if that's the case—" Thorne's smirk almost made Kai's skin crawl.

"No. Cress is nice … and sweet."

"You know her?"

"I used to."

Thorne eyed Kai.

Kai shoved the brochures back into the large manila envelope, ignoring Thorne's scrutiny and was grateful when the bell rang. Kai stuffed his belongings into his backpack before looking up to see Cress walking hand-in-hand with Aimery, the large bouquet of flowers cradled in her arms.

* * *

Kai turned his phone off after the tenth text message he received from his parents. His fourth period had not even begun yet and they were already driving him crazy. He shoved the phone into his pocket and hung his head. He didn't move from his defeated position until the final bell rang and someone slammed into the door. His head jerked up.

Mr. Bristol had not shown up to class yet, but standing in the doorway with her hair falling out of her ponytail and her tie askew, panting, was the new girl. He watched her as she straightened herself and pushed her hair away from her face. She tried to adjust the tie on her mandatory school uniform, but was unable to get it to sit properly. Kai felt sorry for her.

He, along with the rest of the student body had wondered why the new girl was even attending Artemisia Academy at all. She was clearly out of her element, and judging by the disgruntled look currently on her face, it wasn't her choice to be there. Kai had heard that she lived in the city and had been going to public school her entire life. He thought it was strange that she would enroll at a new school during her senior year, especially one as ruthless as Artemisia Academy.

He found it hard to believe that anyone who wasn't already born into that life would want to do such a thing. After all, her family were nobodies. Strictly speaking, no one had heard of the Linhs. They didn't own property or run a Fortune 500 company. They weren't in finances and didn't have any interests overseas. If the rumors were true, her father had been some sort of scientist or inventor, but no one had ever heard of him and he had died.

The girl huffed and made her way to her seat, but not before having to pass by Sybil Mira.

"Cinder Linh," Sybil jeered. "Why are you so late? Making out with the school janitor?"

The classroom tittered, but Cinder ignored Sybil and kept on walking. It was unfortunate that Cinder was able to keep her head held so high, because she didn't see Sybil stick her foot out into the aisle which sent Cinder careening forward into Kai's desk.

He shot out of his seat to catch her as she lurched forward into him. His arms gripped hers tightly and held her up. The class broke into laughter.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked her quietly.

Cinder looked up into Kai's face and he was taken aback.

The look she gave him was one of deep annoyance as if he were the one that tripped her instead of preventing her from falling face first into a desk. She jerked her hand away from his as if he was on fire. Cinder turned back to glare at Sybil, who was already bored of the commotion, then turned back to give Kai his own piercing glare. Cinder shoved past him and made her way to her seat. Dumbfounded, Kai simply stood there.

Mr. Bristol finally walked into the classroom, closing the door behind him. The class silenced immediately.

"Have a seat Mr. Prince," Mr. Bristol said before turning his attention to the class and clapping his hands together. "Okay everyone, let's talk about Ophelia!"

* * *

Thorne sidled up to Kai as he was stuffing the last of his books into his locker. "I've been trying to reach you all day. What happened to your phone?"

Forgetting he had turned it off earlier, Kai reached into his pocket to retrieve the phone. Twenty-five unanswered messages, twelve of which belonged to Thorne.

"Twelve messages? What's the problem? Neimans run out of your favorite hair gel?"

Thorne threw up his hands in surrender. "Hey man, uncalled for. You know I get all of my toiletries delivered directly from Paris."

Kai rolled his eyes.

Thorne reached his arm out to block Kai's access to his own locker. "Spades, what is going on with you? I get that your parents are being annoying as all hell right now but can you please not take it out on me?"

Kai dragged a hand down his face. "It's not them. It's not _entirely_ them," he amended. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to snap. I do know that you get your hair products directly from Paris along with love letters from your admirers."

Thorne nodded, satisfied with Kai's apology. "I have some news that might make you feel better."

"An asteroid is headed straight for us and I won't have to look at these college brochures anymore because we're all going to die tomorrow?"

"Stars, when did you become so melodramatic?"

"I've always been this melodramatic, you've always just been too self-absorbed to notice."

"Aces!" Thorne clenched his fist. "If I had known you were such I downer, I wouldn't have landed you a date this Saturday. No girl should have to suffer through this."

"You got me a date?" Kai looked skeptical.

Thorne rubbed the back of his neck. "Technically, it's a double date."

"A double date … with you?!" Kai's incredulousness reached a whole new level. "The last time we went on a double date was in the _eighth grade_ and it was a disaster!"

"Hey," Thorne interjected defensively. "How was I supposed to know which twin was which? They were identical!"

"They were wearing different clothes!" Kai couldn't keep himself from laughing.

"Are you going to do me this solid or what?"

"Oh, so it's me that's doing you the favor and not the other way around. It's all starting to make sense now." Kai smirked knowingly.

"Are you in or are you out because I can find someone else. I am not going to give up a date with this girl just because you're going through some … things." Thorne was beginning to sound exasperated.

"Who's the girl?"

Thorne's eyes looked almost dreamy. "Darla, Darla, Legs For Days, Darla."

Kai cleared his throat. "Who's _my_ date?"

Thorne grinned. "One of Darla's friends?"

Kai groaned. "Unbelievable." He slammed his locker shut and turned to walk away.

"Hey," Thorne called out, jogging after him. "At least give me a ride in the town car."

Kai waited until Thorne caught up with him outside of the school. He spotted Deshel waiting beside the town car for him. "What happened to Jina?"

"Jina is Friday and Darla is Saturday. Try to keep up."

Kai made a big show of smacking himself in the forehead. "How could I have been so dense?" he asked dryly.

"So are you in or are you in?" Thorne asked, eyebrows high in anticipation.

"In." Before Thorne could get too excited, Kai held up a finger. "But you owe me."

Thorne laughed and punched him in the shoulder. It didn't hurt, but Kai wasn't expecting it and it pushed him off balance. He stumbled backwards and bumped into an unsuspecting passerby.

"Aces, I'm sorry!" Kai exclaimed before turning around.

"Watch where you're going."

Kai winced when he saw the glare of Cinder Linh's cold eyes. "I'm really sorry. Are you okay?"

Cinder rolled her eyes as she bent down to pick up the book that had fallen out of her hands. "Peachy."

Kai scolded himself for not doing it for her. He didn't know why Cinder hated him so much, but he didn't want to give her any more reason to do so and he was usually a perfect gentleman.

"Hey, that was my fault." Thorne spoke up from behind Kai.

If the looks that Cinder gave Kai was one of annoyance and dislike, the glare she was giving Thorne now was one of pure loathing that burned bright and hot. Kai was surprised at the tone of Thorne's voice as if he were almost scared.

"S-sorry."

"Your _daddies_ might own half of this town, but you don't own the sidewalk. Watch where you're going next time." Cinder huffed.

"You're right. Again, we're sorry." Kai grabbed Thorne by his blazer and pulled him away before he said anything that would have caused Cinder to throw her book at them, something he was sure was bound to happen if he knew his friend at all.

They quickly closed the distance between Cinder and Kai's town car and as Deshel held the door open for Kai and Thorne to climb into the back seat. Kai could have sworn he heard Cinder muttering as she walked by.

"Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

 **AN:** Once again, a big thanks to **_lettered_** for beta'ing.


	4. Chapter 4

Cress closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to stave off the tension headache that was inching up on her. She reached behind her shoulder and tried to ease the knot that had formed between her neck and shoulder blade. She had been hunched over her computer for the past six hours, working diligently on the phone app that Levana had requested earlier that week.

Cress had tried to put it off, hoping Levana would forget about it, but after receiving a total of thirty-two emails in the span of four days, Cress realized she should have known better. Levana never forgot, and if Cress did not finish that app before Monday morning, she wouldn't be forgiven. Levana never forgave.

A ping sounded on Cress's computer and she jumped in her seat. She hurriedly saved her program and practically skipped to her bathroom to get ready for her date. Aimery had been particularly sweet to her all week after he had shown up at her house unexpectedly Monday evening and things got a bit heated. The next day he had presented her with a bouquet of a dozen yellow roses and continued to surprise her with gifts the rest of the week. Cress was thrilled that she had such an amazing boyfriend and couldn't help but feel slightly pleased when some of the school girls eyed her delivery of Laudrée macarons that Friday at lunch with envy. She had, of course, shared the bounty and couldn't help but smile when even Sybil gave in and selected a treat from the mint and gold box.

When Aimery had taken her home from school, he had told her that he was going to take her out to some place special for their date on Saturday and as Cress stood in the shower, lathering up her hair with shampoo, she wondered where it could be. Maybe he was going to take her to that Ethiopian restaurant she had been talking about, or maybe he would take her on a romantic picnic at the park. She could barely keep in her excitement as she rinsed out her hair.

She stood in front of her full length mirror and studied herself. She had left her long, blonde hair down, hoping it would look more romantic. After applying a copious amount of styling serum, her curls fell in waves which she had pulled to one side and pinned back with a silver hair pin that had once belonged to her late mother. She fingered the hair pin gently as she studied her outfit.

Cress felt bold enough to put on a midnight blue mini-skirt that shimmered when it caught the light just right. It was definitely more sexy than she was used to, but she had felt daring when she had bought it at the store and liked the way it made her legs looked long and lean. She had stashed it away in her closet as soon as she brought it home, but tonight she wanted to show it off. She paired it with a black, short-sleeve, mock turtleneck top, hoping to keep the outfit modest, and draped an extra long silver necklace dotted with stars around her neck.

She ran a nude pink lip gloss over her lips just in time to hear the doorbell ring. Muffled voices downstairs indicated that Aimery had arrived. She stepped out onto the landing of the stairs and called out to him.

"Are we going to the park?"

Aimery chuckled. "No."

"So heels?"

"Unquestionably, yes."

Cress was slightly disappointed, but she made her way to her closet, knowing exactly which pair of shoes to grab. Another check in the mirror and a swipe of mascara later, Cress made her way down the stairs.

"Wow." Aimery ran a hand over his short, velvet hair.

Cress couldn't help but grin as she spun on the spot in her black stilettos. Aimery grabbed her hand to make her stop so that he could pull her close for a kiss.

Cupping her face with his hand, he whispered, "You look amazing. We don't have to go anywhere if you want …"

Cress nudged him in the side with her elbow and pulled him towards the door. "Let's go. I'm starving."

She tried to get him to tell her where they were going while he wove through the busy streets in his orange McLaren 650S. He wouldn't say, insisting it was a surprise, but smirking all the while. Cress settled herself into the leather car seat and wondered if he was taking her to the Ethiopian restaurant after all.

When they reached their destination, another small pang of disappointment hit Cress. It wasn't the Ethiopian restaurant, but the hot, new Euro-Asian fusion spot that all the kids at school were talking about, called Ü. She had hoped Aimery would have taken her somewhere more romantic. Or at least somewhere away from the swarm of Artemisia Academy students that would surely be there on a Saturday evening, but when the valet opened her door, she plastered on a smile and gave him her hand to help her out of the car.

Sure enough, when Cress stepped into the restaurant with Aimery's hand pressed into the small of her back, she could already spot two tables with people she recognized from school. Aimery gave the hostess the name on the reservation and they followed her to a table set with white linens and a single white chrysanthemum blossom floating in a bowl of water. Aimery pulled out a chair for Cress and when he sat down across from her, he had a huge grin on his face. She couldn't help but smile at his smile. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

A waiter came by to fill their glasses with sparkling water and handed them menus on thick, coarse paper. He had informed them that they made their paper in-house. Cress hoped that they didn't devote all of their time making the paper instead of making their food taste good. When she scanned the menu, however, she couldn't help but be impressed at their offerings: grilled prawns with a cumin bechamel sauce, green papaya salad with confit duck, squid ink fritters, and something that sounded like a cross between a pork bun and a pierogi.

As she weighed her options, she heard the shuffling of feet, a girl's giggle, and a male's voice saying, "Oh."

Cress looked up to see Kai standing by their table.

"Hi, Cress."

Cress was at a loss for words. Kai looked very handsome in a grey cashmere sweater with a short v-neck that dipped just below the hollow of his throat. He was standing next to a pretty girl who had long black hair and caramel skin. Behind them stood Thorne with his arm wrapped around the waist of a tall, tan girl with thick, wavy black hair. He was so obviously kissing her neck in the middle of the restaurant that it made Cress's skin crawl. She wouldn't call herself a prude, but she did believe in propriety.

Thorne nudged his friend's back without taking his gaze off his date. "What's the hold up?"

A string of giggles came out of Thorne's date's mouth and Kai gave Cress a weak, apologetic smile before leading his own date behind their hostess towards their table. With her mouth suddenly dry, Cress took a sip of sparkling water. The bubbles managed to calm her nerves, although she didn't know why she felt so jittery.

Aimery acted like nothing had happened and clucked his tongue as he perused the menu.

"Have you decided on anything yet?"

"W-what?"

"I'm thinking about starting off with the lobster and ginger dumplings."

Cress looked down at the table to the menu she had completely forgotten about. "I need to—go to the ladies' room."

Aimery stood up with her and she felt instantly better. At least _her_ boyfriend was a perfect gentleman. She almost regretted getting up, though, because she had no choice but to pass by Kai's table where he sat side-by-side with his date while Thorne sat across from him, still necking the pretty girl.

Kai looked miserable and Cress felt sorry for him. She also felt bad for not saying hi when he had greeted her. That was the first time in months that he had said a single word to her and she hated to admit that she had missed him, if anything, as a friend.

When Cress stepped into the ladies' room, she found that it looked more like a spa than the restroom to a hip Euro-Asian restaurant. The floor was paved with cream limestone and the walls were plastered with a wallpaper that looked like bamboo. The vanity was one large continuous sink floating off the wall with two sets of faucets mounted directly on top. The toilet stalls were made of a warm teak.

A sniffling behind one of the stalls made Cress jump. She thought she was alone, but when another sniffle came, she took a tentative step closer.

"Um—are you okay?" Cress asked and gently knocked on the stall's door.

The shaky breath coming from behind the door told her that whoever was in there wasn't okay. Cress looked around the bathroom and spotted a box of tissues sitting next to a vase of orchids. She grabbed the box and bent down to ease it underneath the toilet stall's door. It was an awkward position, especially in her skirt, but she was glad when whoever was upset pulled three tissues from the box.

"Th-thank you."

"You're welcome." A short pause. "Do you need more?"

"No. I think I'll be okay."

Cress nodded and pulled the tissue box back, returning it to its original spot next to the vase of orchids. Not knowing what to do, she pulled a tissue out for herself and twisted it around in her hands. She didn't think it would be right just use the facilities and leave the crying girl to her own devices.

"Do you … want to talk about it?" She felt a little silly, looking at herself in the mirror as she spoke, but when the girl's miserable sigh came, Cress scolded herself for thinking about something so trivial when someone was clearly upset.

"I should have known better," came a strained confession.

Cress hesitated. She didn't want to pry, but her curiosity got the better of her. "About what?"

A pause, and then a rueful reply. "Thorne."

Cress's head shot up in surprise. "Carswell Thorne?"

There was a hiccup and a short silence. "The one and only." The girl blew her nose. "I _knew_ what I was getting into. Got myself into. I did. But …"

Even though the girl couldn't see, Cress nodded her head in sympathy.

"But now he's on a date with another girl." More sniffles.

Cress thought the girl was due for another handful of tissues and again, offered the box through the gap underneath the door. The girl pulled three more issues out and Cress lingered for a moment before withdrawing the box once again. She thought the girl should keep the box, but she didn't want to suggest it, in case the came off sounding too insensitive.

"I should have known better," the girl repeated, without any prompting from Cress. "But he was so sweet and charming … and … I thought maybe he had changed."

Cress snorted. "People like that don't change."

"How do you know?"

Cress hesitated, but only briefly. "He seems like the type of guy who is only concerned about himself. You deserve better. Every girl deserves better."

The girl blew her nose one last time and a rustling behind the stall door indicated that she was coming out. Cress stepped back to make room and was surprised to see a familiar face. The girl looked surprised herself and for a split second, her hazel eyes flashed with panic before turning steely.

Jina stepped around Cress, as if getting within two feet of her was going to cause some sort of physical injury. She washed her hands and blotted her face with a wet napkin before grudgingly mumbling, "Thanks for the tissues."

Cress watched, dumbfounded, as Jina left the bathroom without any further acknowledgement of Cress's presence. She frowned at herself in the mirror. Jina had never been exactly nice to Cress before. In fact, sometimes Cress wondered what she ever did to make Jina act so cold towards her, but Cress thought after what had transpired between the two of them just moments ago, that Jina could have been a a bit more decent.

Remembering she had actually gone to the restroom for a reason, she pushed Jina and her crying out of her mind. When Cress was done using the facilities, she gave herself one final look in the mirror and opened the door to leave. Something sailed past her face and she jumped back in surprised. If she had stepped into the corridor just a half second sooner, she would have been trampled for sure. Cress waited for a moment and then took a tentative step forward into the hallway.

A low moan broke through the distant chatter of the dining area, making Cress jump. She turned her heads towards the nose and realized that the thing that had almost knocked her over was really two people, arms and legs entwined, brazenly making out. Her cheeks flushed instantly and she was about to look away when she realized that the guy who had his hands roaming the girl's backside was, in fact, Carswell Thorne. Cress didn't know why, but after that discovery, she couldn't tear her eyes away.

Thorne must have felt her gaze upon him because he looked up at her, even though his lips were still hungrily attached to his date's. He saw her watching them and his eyes dipped down to scan her body, lingering at the hem of her mini-skirt, before winking at her.

Cress bristled.

Thorne smirked.

He turned his full attention back on the girl with the tan skin and incredibly long legs who was now running kisses down his neck and audibly growled at her. He was disgusting.

Cress stood there for three more seconds, almost wishing he would look at her again so that she could give him a look of disdain, but he was too enamored with the girl who was now running her hands fiercely through his hair, and it just made Cress more agitated. She rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, ready to return to her boyfriend.

Aimery stood up when Cress returned to the table. "Is everything okay? I was starting to get worried."

Cress huffed when she sat down, clearly still reeling from the events in the restroom and then in the hallway. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. When she opened them, Aimery was looking at her curiously.

"I ran into Jina in the restroom."

"Ah." Aimery had known, of course, about Cress's suspicions of Jina's feelings towards her. "What happened? She looked more than a little upset."

"Did you talk to her?"

Aimery shook his head and took a sip of his water. "She practically ran out the door, leaving her friends." He gestured a finger towards a far table and Cress turned to see a group of three people. She recognized one of the guys. She vaguely recalled his name being Jamal, but the other two didn't look familiar to her. Just a couple of tables down sat Kai, his date, and two empty chairs.

"Oh." Cress's heart tugged for Jina.

"What happened?"

Cress shrugged. She didn't feel right revealing Jina's secret, even to Aimery. "Nothing." Cress looked down at her menu to give herself something to do, but found that she had lost her appetite.

"Well, it's over now. Let's get some food in you." Aimery looked around for their waiter.

"I'm actually not feeling that great. Do you mind if we leave?" She could see the disappointment on his face.

"Are you sure you just don't need something to eat?"

Cress looked down at the table, not wanting to meet Aimery's eyes. "I'm not hungry. I just want to go home."

"Okay."

Aimery drove Cress home and insisted he come in to take care of her if she wasn't feeling well, but she declined. After the encounter with Kai, Jina, and Thorne, she was sick of being around people and was looking forward to a bath and maybe a bowl of mac and cheese if she could find all the ingredients in her fridge.

Aimery held her hand when he walked her to her door and gave her extra pecks on the corners of her mouth which he knew always made her smile when she was feeling sad. He twirled a finger around in her hair and rubbed a thumb against her hip with his other hand.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Cress nodded.

"And you don't want me to come in?"

Cress shook her head.

He kissed her forehead and made his way back to his McLaren. She waved bye to him before he drove away and stepped inside. When she got upstairs and looked at her computer, she found eight more emails from Levana and sighed, slipping off her shimmery midnight-blue mini-skirt.

* * *

 **AN:** As always, thank you to **_lettered_** for beta'ing and thanks for reading. Comments and reviews are always appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Thorne shifted in his rumpled sheets as he felt a soft tickle against his bare torso. The sensation stopped, but in his sleepy haze, he was reminded of Darla's hands in the exact same spot the evening before. Eyes still closed, he smirked and the memory was almost enough to lull him back to sleep, but his phone vibrated against him again and he finally turned over, allowing himself a frustrated grunt into his pillow at whoever was calling him so early on a Sunday morning.

Thorne finally cracked his left eye open and moaned again, cursing himself for forgetting to lower his shades the night before. He reached haphazardly towards the side of his headboard and finally found the switch he was looking for. He flipped the switch and sank back into his bed as the window shades lowered with a low mechanical hum, washing him in darkness.

He lay there motionless for all of five seconds and then huffed, threw his covers off of himself, and began to fish for the phone that was lost in his sheets.

"Thirty-two messages? Spades."

To his horror, most of those messages came from Jina and he cursed himself for being as clumsy to give her his phone number earlier that week. He let out a slow breath as he scrolled through her messages.

Saturday, 8:16 P.M. _Give me a call, there's something we need to discuss.  
_ Saturday, 11:22 P.M. _Call me.  
_ Saturday, 11:35 P.M. _Please.  
_ Sunday, 01:31 A.M. _Why would you go on a date with another girl a day after ours?  
_ Sunday, 01:45 A.M. _Hello?_

Thorne sighed and did not bother to read the rest of the messages before he deleted them from his phone. Jina must have known what she was signing up for, especially since she was the one who had pursued him. He should have felt guilty, but he didn't. She was simply expecting too much of him and he had never made her any promises. He thought she knew how these sorts of things worked, especially in high school. Especially with Carswell Thorne.

Still, he hated that Jina was upset with him, but mostly because deleting her angry text messages wasn't going to make the problem go away. He'd have to eventually deal with all of this in person and he wasn't looking forward to the confrontation. It was enough to tempt him to throw his phone across the room, but he clutched it in his hand instead. He had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

The next series of text messages came from Kai.

Saturday, 9:16 P.M. _You're a bastard, you know that?  
_ Saturday, 9:32 P.M. _Text me in the morning.  
_ Sunday, 8:06 A.M. _My mom's stopping by your place tomorrow for Junior League brunch. Should I tag along?  
_ Sunday, 8:41 A.M. _Are you even awake?  
_ Sunday, 9:12 A.M. _Did you even go to bed?  
_ Sunday, 10:10 A.M. _Are you even alive?_

Thorne smirked, making a mental note to give Kai a call later that day. There was one last message on his phone and Thorne's heart began to race when he saw that the sender was from J.K. He tapped on the message eagerly.

Sunday, 11:32 A.M. _We'll be at The Circle at one. Don't be late._

Thorne checked the clock on his phone and cursed. He jumped out of bed and immediately headed to the shower. He couldn't miss this meeting, but more importantly, he couldn't show up looking like a mess.

* * *

Thorne gave himself one last check in the hallway mirror before he risked the dash between the stairs and the elevator doors of their penthouse apartment in Andromeda Tower. It was a mere fifteen feet, but he would be in full view of the dining room where his mother was currently holding her Junior League brunch. The tinkling of silverware on precious china and the tittering laughter with no warmth was like nails on a chalkboard to Thorne.

Normally, he would sneak through the kitchen and out the back corridor to the service elevator, but their housekeeper, Janette, hated the Junior League as much as Thorne did. She wouldn't be happy with him if he added himself to the commotion of a kitchen that was putting together the perfect brunch for sixteen of the most scrutinizing women in the whole city.

Thorne held his breath and stalked towards the front door, keeping his eyes fixed on the stained glass inset that displayed the Thorne family crest. Two more steps and he'd be in the clear.

"Oh Carswell, darling."

Thorne paused. Of course he wasn't going to be able to leave the house unseen. That was just his luck. He plastered on his most charming smile and swung around, taking long, confident strides to the far end of the dining room where Evelyn Thorne sat at the head of the table.

The soft chattering seemed to have died out and Thorne could feel every single pair of eyes in the room fixed on him as he bent down to kiss his mother on the cheek.

"Good morning Mother, ladies. I didn't want to interrupt." Thorne flashed his smile to the group and his grin widened to see some of the ladies blush, their cheeks matching the hydrangeas running the length of the table.

Evelyn Thorne patted her son's cheek. "It's no bother. Some of the ladies have been asking about you."

"Well, ask and you shall receive. How are you, Mrs. Prince?" Thorne's head nodded towards Kai's mother who happened to be seated on Evelyn's right.

"Very well, thank you, Carswell. I take it that you and Kai had an enjoyable evening last night? Although Kai has been up since seven this morning." Mae Prince averted her eyes to take a sip of her tea.

Thorne simply chuckled. "Yes, Kai has always been an early riser, but I think he may be a little stressed out about his college applications."

The blush on Mae's cheeks deepened and Thorne almost felt bad.

"What about you, dear? Have you selected any schools yet?" Someone else down the table with a string of dainty pearls around her neck asked.

"The Captain is determined that I attend Dartmouth, and we can't disobey Captain's orders." Thorne gave a casual salute to the table and the ladies all chortled and resumed picking at their pastries and emptying their champagne flutes. Thorne gave his mother another kiss on the cheek and made his way towards the front door, conscious of the time and how little of it he had to make his meeting. "Ladies, I hope you enjoy the rest of your brunch." He gave the room a wink and caught a few lingering glances as he left, smirking.

* * *

The cab stopped in front of a dark and deserted bar and Thorne leaned forward in his seat. "Thanks, keep the change." He handed the cabbie a crisp twenty dollar bill and slipped out onto the sunny street.

Thorne popped the collar of his leather jacket and pushed his aviators higher up the bridge of his nose, surveying the building. Above the bright red door was a wooden sign that swayed back and forth from the cool autumn breeze. Carved into the sign was a rough sketched circle of a wolf chasing its own tail. Thorne watched the sign sway back and forth one last time before stepping inside.

Thorne was expecting a dingy bar with sticky tables and booths, a dart board on the wall and maybe even a battered jukebox, but what he saw was the complete opposite. Along both sides of the bar were dark mahogany booths lined with tufted red leather. Above the booths, the walls were covered in a dark damask wallpaper that was barely visible beneath the hundreds of portraits of important looking men, bronzed hunting gear, and over a dozen mounted stag heads. Towards the back, past a wooden archway carved with intricate curls of ivy, was a roaring fire in a large stone fireplace. Hanging above the carved stone mantle was a large tapestry depicting a gruesome hunting scene with men clinging onto reared horses while wolves tore the flesh off panicked deer. Thorne shuddered and the fur pelts that lined all of the seats in that alcove did not go unnoticed.

No wonder they wanted to meet him here. He felt like he just stepped through a portal and landed back at Lykos St. Orpo Preparatory and he hated it. He swallowed hard, making his way to the bar where a surly-looking man watched him as soon as he had entered. Thorne leaned against the heavily polished wooden counter and cleared his throat.

"I'm looking for Keller."

The man snorted. "No one here by that name."

Thorne knitted his eyebrows. "You sure?"

The man didn't reply, only continued to polish the crystal tumbler he had been polishing ever since Thorne had entered the bar. Nope, this was not the place Thorne had been expecting at all.

Thorne let his face fall into a carefree grin and slipped onto one of the tufted leather barstools. "Alright then, since I'm already here, how about a Macallan, neat."

The bartender eyed Thorne with scrutiny, but Thorne was unfazed. He simply stretched his arm, bringing his hand up to scratch his chin as he waited patiently. The bartender's gaze flickered to Thorne's watch that was now prominently displayed and with a huff, he placed the crystal tumbler down onto the counter and pulled out a bottle of Macallan.

Thorne placed his hand over the rim of the glass. "Eighteen, if you have it."

The bartender smirked, amused, pulled out the bottle of Macallan 18 and poured two fingers of the amber liquid into the glass before walking away. Thorne picked up his drink, feeling the weight of the glass in his hand, and admired the cut crystal pattern that made his scotch sparkle. He took a sip and let the liquid roll over his tongue.

"Breakfast of champions."

Thorne heard the bartender snort and he watched as the man picked up a forest green phone hidden behind the counter and speak into it.

"There's a guy here looking for Keller." A pause and then the bartender looked back to Thorne, giving him the once over and smirking. "Yeah."

He had said it like it was a reply and Thorne wondered what the person on the other end had asked to make the stoic man's eyes gleam just so. But his attention shifted to a noise that came from the back of the fireplace room to a door hidden in the paneled wood wall that Thorne had overlooked, probably because the tapestry was too distracting.

The door swung open and out walked a boy with sandy brown hair and thick eyebrows. Although he was a couple of inches taller than Thorne, Jules Keller still had a layer of baby fat that clung to him. That and a less than perfect complexion gave Jules a permanent scowl.

"You're late."

Thorne held up his hands in surrender. "I was here on time. Bubba over here claimed you didn't exist."

Jules rolled his eyes and did an about face. "Follow me."

Thorne scooped up his drink, tipped an imaginary cap to the bartender, and followed Jules past the creepy tapestry and through the heavy wooden doorway. The door closed with a thud behind Thorne and he couldn't help but jump at the sound. He took a quick sip of scotch to calm his nerves.

The corridor was tight but thankfully short and soon it opened up into a parlor that was similar to the fireplace room. This time the wallhangings depicted images of lush forests and fair maidens and although there weren't any wolves ripping at flesh, there was still an eerie presence in these tapestries and Thorne could make out yellow eyes hidden in the wooded backgrounds in these scenes. He took another sip of his scotch.

"You do know you're not in Kansas anymore, right?" Thorne said, his eyes scanning the room to see the uninterested faces of a handful of boys.

"What do you mean?" Jules asked, plopping down on a brown leather armchair draped with a fur pelt.

"He thinks our decor is a bit…much," answered a large pale boy with flaming red hair. He eyed Thorne from his seat in a wing backed chair close to a window that overlooked some sort of hidden garden—another thing that surprised Thorne to find.

Thorne smirked. "All I'm saying, Jerrico, is that if you're going to take a two hour train ride to the city for the weekend, you don't have to take your dormitory with you."

"Two years at LSOP and you still have no pride in it?" snarled a dark haired boy. Thorne vaguely recalled his name being Wynn.

Thorne shrugged, unfazed. "My dad made me go there. If I had a choice, I'd have spent that time on a beach in Saint Tropez with a girl…or two," Thorne said, smirked, "Not in stuffy classrooms with you wolf cubs."

A murmur rippled through the room and Thorne instantly regretted his snide remark. He was there for a reason and insulting this group was not going to help his cause, even though he secretly thought they were lunatics, idolizing Lykos St. Orpo Preparatory and its mascot like they did. He supposed for most of them, LSOP was in their blood—their legacy—much like Artemisia Academy and Dartmouth was for him and his family. Sometimes you just couldn't outrun it.

Jerrico Solis spoke up. "Keller said you wanted a word with us."

"Right." Thorne took a seat on one end of the Chesterfield sofa that sat directly across from the fireplace. He immediately regretted it as the heat from the roaring fire rolled over him, but he knew The Pack was now watching his every move and he needed to come off as aloof, even though thinking about how they called themselves The Pack made him want to roll his eyes. He took another sip of his scotch and cleared his throat. "I have a business proposition for you."

Although Jerrico didn't look interested, Thorne could tell he was paying attention.

"You do all of your dealings at LSOP and while it is a lucrative business, upstate isn't exactly boundless."

Wynn snorted. "We do alright."

Thorne simply smiled like he would have smiled at a toddler who could count to five. "I propose you open up your services to Artemisia Academy—"

A couple of snorts rang out in the room with more than one chuckle following.

Again, Thorne smiled patiently and finished his train of thought. "—with me as your liaison. For a reasonable fee, of course." Thorne took another sip of his drink and twirled the glass in the palm of his hand. He kept his eyes fixed on the amber liquid, not bothering to acknowledge Jerrico until he had to.

The incredulous murmurs around the room grew louder and bolder until Jerrico finally spoke up. "If I remember correctly, the last time you were the liaison in one of our deals, it didn't end up working out so well."

Thorne had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "If _I_ remember correctly, that was your brother's fault. Not mine."

"It was still _your_ deal."

"It was still _your_ idiot brother." From the corner of Thorne's eye, he could see Jules bury his face in his hands. If this meeting went south, it would be Jules who would pay for it and even though there was no love lost between them, Thorne recognized that Jules had done him a solid for getting him into this room at all. "Listen, what's done is done. Richard has graduated and you're the leader of The Pack now. Do we have a deal or what?"

Thorne could feel the bodies around the room shifting, moving closer, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He was really hoping he wouldn't get jumped today.

After a long pause that made Thorne think he really would get attacked by nine brawny guys, Jerrico finally spoke up. "We'll do a trial run. Five percent for a month."

Thorne balked. "Five percent? That won't even pay for the laces on my Oxfords."

"What's the matter? You're a Thorne aren't you? Didn't think you needed the cash," rang a voice from somewhere in the room.

"I'm raising money to donate to the elderly _or_ it's none of your business and yeah I am a Thorne and Thornes don't look for handouts from their daddies." He shot Wynn a dirty look, but didn't have the time to flinch when the boy lunged at him. Luckily, Jerrico stepped in the way and pushed Wynn back.

Wynn let out an angry grunt that almost sounded like a growl.

"Seven percent until you prove yourself," said Jerrico, flexing his hands.

Thorne shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly even though he was dying to get out of that room. "We have ourselves a deal, gentlemen." He raised his glass and downed the rest of his Macallan 18 in one easy gulp.

* * *

Thorne didn't allow himself a sigh of relief until he was back outside on the busy street and two blocks away from the bar. Deciding that he needed to surround himself with normal people, he made his way to the subway station. Being in that parlor had reminded him of the two miserable years he had spent at Lykos St. Orpo Preparatory and how much he had hated it there.

It had been a lonely and trying experience for him, being in at an all-boys school full of legacies who measured their worth based on the size of their fathers' portfolios. Not that Artemisia Academy was any different, but at least he was only there for a few hours a day and he had Kai.

Thorne balled up his fists.

Thinking of Kai now so soon after talking to The Pack made him feel guilty. Thorne had never told Kai where he was for those two years, even though his best friend had asked on several occasions. Thorne was the master of dodging questions and situations that made him uncomfortable, and even though he had acted like getting expelled was just another bump in the road during the adventures of Carswell Thorne, not having to think or talk about it meant not having to deal with how disappointed Kai, his best and only friend, had been with him.

Thorne pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed Kai's number, hoping to alleviate some of his guilt for not telling Kai he had only been a two hour train ride away during his exile and also for abandoning him the night before on their double date.

Kai picked up after the second ring. "Thank you for calling Kai Prince. He is unable to answer the phone right now because he's too busy making a pros and cons list on whether or not to continuing being friends with Carswell Thorne. If you'd like to leave a message, please do so now."

"Pro: he's the most handsome guy in the city—no, state—wait, east coast."

Kai snorted, unamused. "Con: he's really bad at apologizing."

"Pro: you're the only one he apologizes to?" Thorne could almost hear Kai rolling his eyes.

"Con: it still needs a lot of work."

Thorne smiled. "Pro: he can play this game with you all day."

"I guess that's true. Fine, you win, but you're still a bastard."

"I take it you didn't have a good time with…Darla's friend?"

" _Carissa_ is perfectly fine, but we didn't appreciate you two ditching us, especially since we got death-glares from Jina's friends. We left, got burgers, and then I took her home."

"She was okay with you taking her to get burgers? I guess she is okay after all." Thorne scratched his chin as he waited for the light to turn so he could cross the street.

"Well, I wouldn't say she was thrilled, but she was a good sport about it. What she wasn't happy with was walking home."

Thorne let out a bark of laughter. "You couldn't dig into those silk-lined pockets to pay for cab fare?!"

Kai huffed. "I only had forty dollars on me because I left my wallet in your glove compartment so when you decided to leave the restaurant with Darla, there wasn't much I could do."

"You have a driver!"

"It was his night off!"

Thorne chuckled at his hopeless friend. "Okay, I'm headed home now. If you meet me there you can get your wallet and I can fill you in on _my_ date."

"How about I get my wallet and you don't fill me in on your date."

"Suit yourself. I'm headed into the subway now…"

"Okay. See you in a few."

Thorne ended the call and read a text message that came through from Jules while he had been talking to Kai.

Sunday, 3:17 P.M. _Your point of contact will be Kesley. Sending you his number now._

The phone vibrated in his hand and he confirmed that he received Kesley's number. Thorne tried to recall a Kesley from his days at LSOP, but no one came to mind. He paused when he reached the subway turnstile and swiped his Metro card. He nearly walked into a little old lady laden with grocery bags as he tried to remember if he had any classes with Kesley or even if he had seen him in the parlor room with Jules and Jerrico.

All of his thinking stopped, however, when his eyes fell upon a girl who was waiting on the platform. Thorne allowed himself the time to inspect her. From his vantage point, two things were clear, that she had fantastic curves in all the places that Thorne deemed important and that she had very, very red hair.

He couldn't stop himself from walking up to her. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you are an extremely attractive woman."

The girl turned to him slowly, fixing her caramel eyes onto him. She didn't seem flattered in the slightest. "I'm sure you could have tried a little harder."

The corner of Thorne's mouth slowly turned upwards into the grin that he knew was irresistible to the female population and he let out a good-natured chuckle. "Maybe, but then I wouldn't be here asking for your name."

The girl had been preparing herself to be unimpressed, Thorne could tell, but she allowed herself a second glance at him, her gaze lingering for a moment on his mouth and then his hair which he was glad he had run a hand through before approaching her.

"I'm Thorne, by the way," he offered.

Finally, she gave him a smirk of her own and answered, "Scarlet."

Thorne grinned. "Like the hair?"

Scarlet's smile widened, but instead of looking impressed at his cleverness, she snorted. "Gee, I've never heard that before," she said, rolling her eyes and faced forward just as a train pulled into a stop in front of them.

Thorne shrugged his shoulder. It might have seen apologetic if it weren't for the grin still on his face and the way he winked at her. "How about you give me your number and I'll tell you some other things you've never heard before."

Scarlet threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. "Tempting, but I'll pass." She stepped into the carriage and Thorne watched as the doors slid close between them and the subway train pulled away from the platform.

* * *

AN: As always, thanks to my beta _**lettered**_.


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